Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 99: Must be nice, getting visited by a beautiful celebrity, huh?

“Was that dashing girl who was always by your side at the Dream Chaser Show Ethan’s girlfriend?” Abigaile asked, tucking her long hair behind her ear to reveal it.

She was getting impatient with Ethan’s silence.

She decided to pull out more of her charms to tease him.

Ethan shook his head: “No, just a friend.”

“Aw, that’s too bad. I was hoping to ask you what being in love feels like,” Abigaile said, resting her hands on her knees, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.

“You know, I actually don’t really have any close friends.”

She spoke with a smile in her eyes and a natural ease, crossing her long legs clad in black stockings into a more comfortable, relaxed position, her tone casual as if chatting with a good friend.

Ethan was taken aback, wondering if they were really that close to share such personal thoughts.

“You know?” Abigaile turned to him, “I saw you and that girl Blair helping each other out, and I was super jealous of your friendship.”

Ethan chuckled in agreement.

“When I first graduated, I didn’t have any friends, so I got into cosplay and made a lot of bold videos.” Abigaile leaned back in her chair, her long legs in black stockings swinging, “Actually, I was just hoping to make some friends I could really talk to.”

Her voice carried a tinge of melancholy: “It’s a shame, though. Just when I thought I was making friends, it seemed like they were more interested in tricking me into bed.”

“I used to look at the stars and think that my real friends were out there somewhere, looking at the same sky, and all I had to do was wait to meet them.”

After finishing her thought, Abigaile spread her hands: “But then, because my cosplay photos were so accurate, a talent scout discovered me, and I entered the entertainment industry. It’s even harder to find true friends here.”

She looked down, her eyes full of wistfulness: “I really don’t know when I’ll be able to make friends.”

“Yeah, now that you’re a celebrity, it’s really tough to make friends in the traditional sense,” Ethan analyzed seriously.

He was getting to know Abigaile all over again.

From public records, she was 21 this year, but he hadn’t expected her to be quite naive.

“Yeah,” Abigaile said, her mood low, her long legs swinging back and forth, her trench coat unbuttoned.

This posture, as she swung her legs, inadvertently caused her skirt to lift slightly, revealing a bit more of the black stockings on her thighs.

Such unintentional movements by a beautiful girl can be incredibly distracting.

“I really wish I could make some true friends.”

Abigaile knew that appearing more naive in front of a man could lower his guard.

“If you don’t mind, Blair and I could be your friends,” Ethan offered with a smile.

“Really?” Abigaile clasped her hands together, her eyes lighting up.

She suppressed her embarrassment, acting younger than her age in front of a boy three years her junior, which was more embarrassing than she had anticipated.

But it was worth it, as she had achieved her goal. Next, she would leverage his fanbase.

“Of course, I can’t even imagine being friends with a celebrity,” Ethan was also happy, finding Abigaile more naive and straightforward than he had thought, which he felt he needed to make the most of.

The atmosphere between them became more harmonious.

“Call me Abby,” Abigaile suggested, taking the opportunity to get even closer.

Both had intentions of building a connection, and naturally, they got along better, the atmosphere like that of friends who had known each other for years.

“Sure, Abby,” Ethan said earnestly. “By the way, could I ask you for a favor?”

“Of course!” Abigaile was delighted, assuming his request would be something like an autograph or a photo together.

“Well… it’s a bit awkward to say.” Ethan hesitated and then shook his head: “Never mind, it’s nothing really.”

“Hmph!” Abigaile crossed her arms: “Ethan, you’re going to make me mad.”

She was used to fans’ requests.

From his demeanor, she guessed he probably wanted a handshake or some merchandise.

Such is the unequal exchange of resources when you’re a celebrity.

She just needed to reveal a little something insignificant, and it would make him incredibly grateful.

They seemed like friends.

But in this friendship, she held the dominant position.

…

Scarlett, carrying shopping bags, returned to the hospital room. The door was still closed, indicating the two were still chatting inside.

She pulled out her phone, looking at the Google search results on the screen: “So she really is a celebrity.”

When Scarlett first saw her, she felt a sense of familiarity.

During a trip to the convenience store, she remembered seeing Abigaile while watching Ethan perform on the Dream Chaser Show.

Pulling out her phone, Scarlett quickly found Abigaile’s information.

Leaning on the railing with a smile, Scarlett was always happy to see any of Ethan’s peers come to visit.

She waited in the hallway for less than ten minutes.

The door to the hospital room opened.

Abigaile looked upset, but upon seeing Scarlett, she quickly put on a smile: “Sorry to trouble you.”

“Not at all,” Scarlett waved her hand dismissively. “Thank you for coming to see Ethan.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Abigaile said, her smile awkward. After greeting her, she hurried off.

Watching her rush away, Scarlett shook her head, thinking to herself how different celebrities could be.

Returning to the hospital room, she saw Ethan sitting up, grinning ear to ear as he looked at his phone.

Scarlett teased, “Must be nice, getting visited by a beautiful celebrity, huh?”

“Yeah, she’s really kind,” Ethan said, glancing at the $20,000 deposit on his phone.

True to a celebrity’s form, generous even in lending money.

Now, he thought, if he could just get an influencer to boost his profile, he could make another $40,000 and reach his $100,000 goal.

Meanwhile, in the hospital’s parking lot, Abigaile got into a luxury van.

“How did it go?” her agent asked.

“Argh!!!” Abigaile clenched her fists. “Jerk! Jerk! Jerk!!!”

Ethan had played up his financial woes, making them sound utterly dire.

Normally, Abigaile would have found an excuse to refuse.

But today, she had gone all out, dressing in cosplay, revealing her underwear and thighs, already incurring a sunk cost.

If she refused to lend the money, it would create a rift between them.

And leveraging him would become much harder.

“Phew.” Abigaile took a deep breath to calm herself. “I will extract even more value from you!”

That night, Scarlett, annoyed by his clinginess, ended up kissing him again.

But that was her limit.

She went to sleep in the adjacent bed.

The next day.

Ethan waited for Blair to finish school and push his wheelchair around the hospital’s intensive care unit.

His health metrics were now indistinguishable from a healthy person’s.

This meant the system no longer classified him as a terminally ill patient, and thus, he could no longer trigger newbie tasks related to his condition.

“Damn it.” Ethan was stunned when he realized this mechanism.

So, the tasks he had painstakingly completed were just newbie tasks.

As Ethan looked up, he saw a woman, also pushing a wheelchair, coming around the corner towards him.